M-Braves Earn Three Game Sweep Of The Blue Wahoos
July 22, 2019
The Blue Wahoos gave themselves an early reason to believe Sunday’s game might evolve differently than others in the past week.
They staked a 3-0 lead in the third inning. It was already the most runs generated in six games. Starting pitcher Jorge Alcala was coming off two solid starts.
But it changed quickly after the Mississippi Braves scored four runs in the bottom of the third, chased Alcala, then kept on hitting into an 8-3 win and three-game sweep of the weather-shortened series in Pearl, Miss. The teams did not play Saturday night due to heavy rain in the area.
What started positive became the Blue Wahoos’ season-high, sixth consecutive loss. It was the team’s 13th defeat in the past 15 games. It has dropped the Blue Wahoos (49-50 overall, 11-18 second half) under .500 overall for the first time this season, after they won the first three games to start the 2019 season in April.
The M-Braves (46-52, 13-16), got a career-high eight innings pitched from starter Joey Wentz, plus bashed a season-high 18 hits against five Blue Wahoos pitchers. The M-Braves won their fourth consecutive game.
The Blue Wahoos will now try to shake this slide at home Monday when beginning a five-game series against the Mobile BayBears.
It will be the BayBears final appearance in Pensacola as a franchise. The team will relocate in 2020 to Madison, Ala., just outside of Huntsville, changing into the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
The M-Braves launched their offense Sunday without a home run and only two extra-base hits among the 18 they produced. Six of the batters in the lineup had multiple hits, led by catcher William Contreras, who went 4-for-5 with three RBI in the first 4-hit day of his Double-A career.
Earlier in Sunday’s game, however, it was the Blue Wahoos with a busy day at the plate. In the first inning, Alex Kirilloff single, then went to second after Trevor Larnach was hit by a pitch from Wentz.
Lewin Diaz followed with an RBI single. Caleb Hamilton hit a sacrifice fly to score Larnach. After a wild pitch sent Diaz to second, Mark Contreras lined out to first base to end the inning.
In the top of the third, Larnach blasted his first Double-A home run on a deep shot over the center field wall, giving the Blue Wahoos a 3-0 lead.
The good vibe changed when four of the first five M-Braves batters reached base in the bottom of the third. Alejandro Salazar started the rally with a lead off triple, then scored on Ray-Patrick Didder’s single.
Drew Waters following a one-out single to score Didder. After Ryan Casteel walked and Contreras made his only out in the game on a fly out, Alcala (5-7, 6.36 ERA) was lifted for Anthony Vizcaya.
He was promptly greeted by two consecutive RBI singles and a walk to drive in two runs. Salazar came back around to bat and laced a hard liner that Larnach caught in right field to end the inning.
The score stayed 4-3 in the M-Braves favor until they scored a run in the sixth. Contreras’ RBI single provided a 5-3 lead. In the seventh, the M-Braves forced the Blue Wahoos to use two relievers in the inning, as they scored three more runs.
The Blue Wahoos were held to five hits, one walk by Wentz (5-7, 4.26 ERA), who struck out five.
Kirriloff went 2-for-4 to boost his average to .281 and was the only Blue Wahoos batter with multiple hits.
The Blue Wahoos will begin the homestand with Mobile on Monday.
Northview’s Stadium Prepped For Football Season With Help From EREC, Century Correctional
July 21, 2019
Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium at Northview High School got a good cleaning Saturday in preparation for the upcoming football season.
The Northview Quarterback Club had help from Escambia River Electric Cooperative and inmates from the Century Correctional Institution (no students were on campus at the time).
The Chiefs hit the road August 16 for a kickoff classic game at Baker. They will be at home to open the regular season on August 23 against Lighthouse Christian.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Monday Deadline To Register To Tate Men’s Soccer Camp
July 21, 2019
Monday is the deadline to register for the 2019 Tate High School Men’s Soccer Camp in order to receive a camp t-shirt.
The camp is for all returning Tate players and all aspiring players for the 2019-2020 varsity and junior varsity teams. Camp will be held July 26-28 from 8 a.m. until noon as Ashton Brosnaham Park. The cost is $100.
For a registration form, click here.
M-Braves Beat The Wahoos
July 20, 2019
The Blue Wahoos knew there might be few scoring chances Friday if Mississippi Braves’ ace Ian Anderson was on top of his game.
When they missed on early opportunities, it became costly again at the end.
The Blue Wahoos’ bats remained in a slumber and their record continued its slide after a 4-2 loss against the M-Braves at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss.
Anderson, the No. 3 ranked player by MLB Pipeline in the Atlanta Braves system, struck out 10 Pensacola hitters to improve his season strikeout total to 129. That leads the Southern League and ranks fourth in all of minor league baseball.
For the Blue Wahoos, this is the first time since the first game of the season their overall record (49-49) is even at .500. They fell into last place (11-17) in the Southern League South Division second-half standings, after losing for the 12th time in 14 games.
On July 3, the Blue Wahoos swept a four-game series at home against the M-Braves for a sixth consecutive win. Friday, they were saddled with a seventh loss in eight games.
The same issue has been the culprit. It’s been a week since they have scored more than two runs in any game.
But before Anderson settled into a seven-inning masterpiece, the Blue Wahoos had a couple chances. They had a runner on base with less than two outs in three of the first four innings.
In the first, leadoff batter Ivan De Jesus Jr. singled. But Anderson got Alex Kirilloff to hit into a double-play and struck out Trevor Larnarch.
In the second inning, the Blue Wahoos got their first run when loading the bases with one out. Lewin Diaz was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Mark Contreras, who went 2-for-4 as the Blue Wahoos only player with multiple hits, followed with a single.
Joe Cronin then singled to load the bases. Diaz scored on Aaron Whitefield’s force out. With runners on second and third, Jordan Gore grounded out to end the inning.
In the fourth inning, Ben Rortvedt had a one out single, but Anderson struck out Contreras and Cronin. The next three innings, the Blue Wahoos had only one baserunner against Anderson, who improved to 7-5, after allowing just five hits, no walks to go along with his 10 strikeouts.
The Blue Wahoos again got their own solid starting pitching. Charlie Barnes worked into the fifth inning, allowing just three hits, one run and struck out six. He had just one walk.
Tom Hackimer, pitching for the first time since June 26, entered in relief and worked 1.2 scoreless innings. In the seventh, however, Adam Bray began the inning and had his roughest relief appearance.
The first three M-Braves batters reached base. William Contreras’ double scored two runs and gave the M-Braves a 3-1 lead. Trey Harris hit a one-out double to score Contreras.
That was the game. The M-Braves’ Claudio Custodio entered in the eighth and gave up a leadoff double to Gore. Larnach’s two-out single scored Gore, then Lewis struck out to end the inning.
Jordan Harrison retired the Blue Wahoos in order in the ninth to get his second save.
The two teams will play again Saturday night in the third game of their weekend series.
Northview Chiefs To Host Youth Football Camp Next Week
July 19, 2019
The Northview Quarterback Club will host their annual youth football camp Monday, July 22 and Tuesday July 23 from 5-7 p.m.
The cost of the camp is $50 and includes a camp t-shirt. The camp is open for any child entering Kindergarten through 8th grade. The participants will receive instruction from the Northview High School coaches and players in offensive and defensive positions, as well as agilities and speed training.
Click here to download a required registration form and waiver.
For more information, email Coach Derek Marshman at DMarshman@escambia.k12.fl.us.
Dobnak’s Memorable Performance Spoiled In Blue Wahoos’ Loss
July 19, 2019
One of the top pitching performances in club history Thursday night was unfortunately not enough to shake the Blue Wahoos from current doldrums.
Randy Dobnak continued his remarkable season, along with his potential future, by working eight innings, allowing just two hits, one run and matching a career-high with nine strikeouts, but became a hard-luck recipient of the Blue Wahoos 1-0 loss against the Mississippi Braves to start a road series in Pearl, Miss.
In part, the reason was M-Braves lefty starter Tucker Davidson, a Southern League All-Star and No. 18 overall prospect in the Atlanta Braves system, was equally masterful. Davidson also went eight complete innings with nine strikeouts, scattered five hits and did not walk a batter.
This sensational arms race led to a game completed in just one hour, 54 minutes Thursday before a crowd of 2,218 at Trustmark Park. It was the seventh time in Dobnak’s last nine starts that he has allowed just one or zero earned runs.
The loss became the Blue Wahoos’ 11th in the past 13 games. They are now just one game above .500 overall (49-48) and fell to 11-16 in the second half. They will try and reverse the trend beginning Friday in the second game of a four-game weekend series.
Rarely in minor league baseball does a game feature both starting pitchers going eight complete innings. Dobnak (4-2) threw 90 pitches and got 12 ground ball outs. Davidson stayed in the game with 97 pitches, 64 for strikes.
In what has typified the Blue Wahoos’ recent downfall, they had runners in scoring position in each of the final three innings, but couldn’t get a game-tying hit. They finished with seven hits in the game, all singles.
In the ninth inning, former major league infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr. led off with a single against reliever Jordan Harrison. Alex Kirilloff then hit into a force play at second base.
Trevor Larnach, who joined the team Tuesday in promotion from High-A Fort Myers, followed with a one-out single. Lewin Diaz worked a 2-2 count, fouled off a pitch, then hit a hard grounder that shortstop Ray-Patrick Didder converted into a game-ending double play.
In the eighth inning, the Blue Wahoos’ Mark Contreras led off with a single. He moved to second on Brian Navaretto’s sacrifice bunt. But Davidson retired Aaron Whitefield on a fly ball to center, then struck out Jordan Gore to end the threat.
In the seventh, Kirilloff had a one-out single, Larnach hit into a force play, but Diaz followed with a single. Again, Davidson worked out of it by getting Caleb Hamilton to pop out.
Those three innings were the Blue Wahoos’ best scoring opportunities. The other was in the first inning when Kirilloff, who went 2-for-4, hit a one-out single. Larnach followed by hitting into a double play.
The game’s only run was scored in the fifth inning. Greyson Jenista led off with a double against Dobnak. Carlos Martinez followed with a one-out, RBI single, but was erased on the cutoff throw by Diaz to De Jesus at second.
Dobnak, who was pitching in a Michigan-based Independent League two years ago, retired the M-Braves in order the next three innings.
The M-Braves (44-52, 11-16) entered the game with four consecutive series’ losses. They lost four of six games against Jacksonville, a team now just one game back of Biloxi in the second-half division race.
Deer Hunters: QDMA Escambia Field Day Program Set For Saturday
July 18, 2019
The Quality Deer Management Association Escambia Branch Field Day will be held Saturday, July 20 in Cantonment.
The free event will feature speakers Keith Swilly on 12 Years of Quality Deer Management and Ben Westfall on QDM Coops, research from UF/IFAS and regulation updates from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The event will take place from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Langley Bell 4-H Center at 3730 Stefani Road. Admission is free, and there will be door prizes.
FWC Hunter Safety Courses Offered In Molino And Jay
July 15, 2019
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is offering free hunter safety courses in Molino and Jay.
Hunter safety courses are designed to help students become safe, responsible and knowledgeable hunters and learn about conservation.
Students who have taken the online course and wish to complete the classroom portion must bring the online-completion report with them.
All firearms, ammunition and materials are provided free of charge. Students should bring a pen or pencil and paper. An adult must accompany children younger than 16 at all times.
Anyone born on or after June 1, 1975, must pass an approved hunter safety course and have ahunting license to hunt alone (unsupervised). The FWC course satisfies hunter-safety training requirements for all other states and Canadian provinces.
Courses will be held:
Escambia County
July 31 (6 to 10 p.m. CDT) & Aug. 31 (7 to 10 a.m. CDT)
Molino Community Center
6450 Highway 95A in Molino
Santa Rosa County
July 17 (6 to 10 p.m. CDT) & Aug. 3 (7 to 10 a.m. CDT)
Jay Community Center
5259 Booker Lane in Jay
July 24 (6 to 10 p.m. CDT) & Aug. 3 (7 to 10 a.m. CDT)
Santa Rosa County Extension Services
6263 Dogwood Drive in Milton
Those interested in attending a course can register online and obtain information about future hunter safety classes at MyFWC.com/HunterSafety or by calling the FWC’s regional office in Panama City at 850-265-3676.
Biscuits Blank The Wahoos
July 15, 2019
They went to rival colleges in the Pac-12 Conference, entered professional baseball in the same year, so Caleb Hamilton was well-familiar with Montgomery Biscuits pitcher Matt Krook.
“I had an idea of what he was doing, but he was still pretty nasty,” said Hamilton, the Blue Wahoos’ versatile catcher-infielder.
So nasty, in fact, that Krook struck out four of the six batters he faced in order Sunday, including Hamilton, in his role to pitch the first two innings as an “opener.” This is a concept the Biscuits’ parent club, the Tampa Bay Rays, introduced to baseball a year ago.
On the same day when the Rays used an opener (Ryne Stanek), then starter Ryan Yarbrough to nearly pull off the first combined, perfect game in baseball history, the Biscuits used their own tandem to help blank the Blue Wahoos in a 4-0 win at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Krook threw two perfect innings, then scheduled starter Kenny Rosenberg followed to work the next six, improving to 9-1 – tied for the most wins in the Southern League — after allowing just three hits and three walks.
It gave the Biscuits (59-35, 15-9 second half) their third win of a six-game series which concludes Tuesday. The Blue Wahoos (49-45, 11-13 second half).
As an organization, Tampa Bay is credited for starting a baseball trend that the Blue Wahoos and Minnesota Twins have tried at times.
The Rays’ perfect game bid was broken up in the ninth inning of their 4-1 win against the Baltimore Orioles, spoiling a feat that has never happened with two pitchers in MLB history.
”From my perspective, it’s you throw a closer role out there to open up the game to face the lineup’s best hitters, so the starter doesn’t have to face them three or four times,” said Hamilton, a Southern League All-Star and former Oregon State player, who went 2-for-3 Sunday and walked in another at-bat.
“So it’s always tough when you have a dude that’s pretty nasty up there… and in the beginning of the game… to go through once or twice,” said Hamilton, who was part of the 2016 draft with Krook. “It’s pretty tough to hit and then the actual starter comes in. You have to adjust and as hitters, we don’t want to adjust.”
It’s the 10th time this season that Krook, a former Oregon Ducks star, has worked as an opener. The Biscuits are 9-1 in those games.
Since returning July 6 from the injured list, Krook has struck out eight of 12 batters in two games and not allowed a baserunner in two appearances.
The two Biscuits pitchers held the Blue Wahoos to four hits and three walks. Neither team made an error. A night earlier, the Blue Wahoos broke out with 12 hits in their 5-3 win.
Sunday’s loss spoiled a second consecutive quality start by the Blue Wahoos Jorge Alcala. He worked into the sixth, allowing five hits and three earned runs. Alcala gave up a mammoth, solo home run blast to Brett Sullivan into the wind at right field in the fifth inning.
In the sixth, Alcala ran into trouble after issuing a leadoff walk, then giving up a one-out single that brought Blue Wahoos manager Ramon Borrego to summon reliever Andrew Vasquez.
But Alcala’s outing was another positive sign that the touted, hard-throwing right hander is on the right track.
“He is commanding three pitches,” said Hamilton, who was Alcala’s catcher Sunday. “Command is what comes down to his success.
“If he has no command, he gets hit around and he walks guys. He just needs confidence. That comes from the first pitch, that comes from the (warmup) bullpen.”
Vasquez, who began this season with the Twins in their bullpen, struggled in his first Blue Wahoos appearance.
After an intentional walk with two outs, loading the bases, Vasquez then walked in a run and gave up a two-single by Lucius Fox.
That was all the scoring in the game.
Just like the previous three games in this series, the wind from Pensacola Bay was a factor. Sullivan’s homer was the only one of the series and would have left any ballpark.
But the Blue Wahoos Lewin Diaz had a fourth-inning shot to right field that got knocked down to allow a warning track catch. In the ninth, Joe Cronin drove a pitch deep in left-center, but it was curtailed by the wind.
“It is always tough when you have a ball that can’t get out of the ballpark, but you have to adjust to it,” said Hamilton, in summation for the team. “And it almost makes the stadium quiet, because all you hear is wind.
“You can’t hear anything else. But you have to adjust. Baseball is a game of adjustments, so we can’t control weather.”
The loss was the Blue Wahoos’ eighth in their last 10 games. Montgomery, meanwhile, has won nine of its last 12 games.
But Hamilton put the game in perspective, after signing autographs for a group of young children, when assessing the team’s position.
“We are just trying to have some fun. The moment you are not having fun playing baseball is when it all goes downhill. We’re just going out there every day… to do our best and making adjustments to different pitchers but at the end of the day it’s just having fun and playing a kids’ game.
Wahoos Beat The Montgomery Biscuits
July 14, 2019
Uncertain weather the past few days forced the Blue Wahoos to forego taking batting practice on the field.
Saturday, manager Ramon Borrego, who constantly checks a weather app on his phone, got the players out earlier and left nothing to chance.
The effect was noticeable throughout Saturday’s game, as the Blue Wahoos matched one of their season-best hitting performances in a 5-3 win against the Montgomery Biscuits. A night after Biscuits’ pitchers flirted with a no-hitter, the Blue Wahoos had multiple hits by five of the top six guys in the batting order.
“Basically that was one of the points,” Borrego said. “For me, it’s better when those guys can hit on the field. They get a better view, they know how the ball carries.”
Alex Kirilloff saw it well. He went 3-for-4, drove in a run and scored twice as batting average climbed to .281.
“It’s different coming back here after being on the road, I think just having the reps on the field that we haven’t had the first two days helps,” said Kirilloff, the Minnesota Twins No. 2 overall prospect and No. 10 ranked overall by MLB Pipeline.
“To see pitches on the field… the wind was a little different (Saturday) which helps, too,” said the 21-year-old Kirilloff. “But you never want to make excuses, you just roll with the punches and deal with it.”
That’s the same way he reflects upon a season where he’s twice dealt with being on the injured list. Since being in the lineup every game since the second half began, his production has climbed.
“I haven’t thought about that,” he said. “For me, each year is its own year. This year has come with challenges as far as injuries, but this is the year that has been given me and I just try and make the best of it.”
Again Saturday, the wind was blowing in from Pensacola Bay as the side effects from Hurricane Barry’s landfall in Louisiana were evident.
This time, the Blue Wahoos drove pitches into outfield gaps. Kirilloff’s first-inning double was followed by an RBI double from Ivan De Jesus Jr., 32, a former major league player, including two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, who the Twins signed earlier this week.
In the second inning, Mark Contreras’ run-scoring double made it 2-0. The Blue Wahoos added three runs in the fifth, all after two out, none-on. They had a triple, double and two singles in that inning.
Kirilloff, Lewin Diaz and Caleb Hamilton all had run-scoring hits.
“That is the Alex we expected,” Borrego said. “He’s a really good hitter. Obviously he was dealing with a lot of stuff. We lost him for couple weeks in the first half.
“But Alex is a very smart guy, he knows what to do. He knows how to make an adjustment. He made some really nice swings. He stayed through the ball Saturday, so that was good.”
On the mound, Charlie Barnes (2-2) earned the win with one of his best starts this season. He worked six innings, allowed six hits, struck out six and allowed just one walk.
Reliever Sam Clay followed Adam Bray in the eighth inning with the bases loaded, one out, and got out of the jam after catcher Brian Navarreto made a perfect throw on Josh Lowe’s attempted steal of second base.
In the ninth, Clay yielded a one-out walk and single, but retired the next two batters, ending the game on a strikeout. Clay has been consistent all season.
“We are so happy for him and the way he’s been pitching this season,” Borrego said. “He’s making a lot of improvements.. If something wrong, he fixes it. And he just gives you results right now.
“His ball has a lot of movement right now.”
The win slowed Montgomery’s movement. The Biscuits had won five in a row and eight of their last nine games. The Blue Wahoos, meanwhile, had lost six of their last seven.
“We know there are still a lot of games left to play and we try not to get too far ahead of ourselves now and take each day as it comes,” Kirilloff said.
Borrego is hoping to repeat the batting practice plan on Sunday in the fourth of six games in this series. The final two games will be Monday and Tuesday night.
“When they hit out on the field, they swing better, they know how the ball carries, so that was helpful,” Borrego said